Joe Thornton: “I wanted to stay here and make it as easy as possible for both parties”

You tell me the last time that a pro athlete in the prime of a successful career voluntarily took a pay cut.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on such matters, but I’ve been around awhile (see above photo) and can’t think of anything comparable to Joe Thornton at age 31 signing a three-year, $21-million contract extension that will actually pay him $200,000 less annually than his previous deal.

Yes, other players such as Patrick Marleau have signed here for less money than they could have made on the open market as free agents. But a pay cut?

Even when you’re still making $7 million a year — and yes, that is still a lot of money and the Thorntons will live comfortably on it — that’s a strong statement to me that you do put the likelihood of team success above absolute personal gain, something that matters in a salary cap era.

Anyway, enough from me. Here’s what Thornton and others had to say today on the topic:

JOE THORNTON

“I love it here. This is home for me and my family and I can’t imagine going anywhere else. It’s nice to have it done and now we just have to do some things to win the Stanley Cup.”

On terms of the deal: “I wanted to stay here and make it as easy as possible for both parties. It was a no-brainer for me to want to play with this group of guys so sign it and get it done with.

“With the salary cap structure, back in the old days you could have gotten $12million but nowadays you have to think of the team and what’s best for the team. The Sharks and myself made a deal that’s best for the team.

“We’re all on the same page. We just want to win. That’s the ultimate goal here. You take a little less to win a cup. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we’re going to get there.”

DOUG WILSON

“We take it as a great compliment when a player in his prime like Joe steps up and does something like this. It’s a compliment to the organization and to his teammates and how he feels about the fans and being here. It means an awfully lot to this organization.

“He came forward and took this into consideration. This is the second time he’s done this and Joe Thornton deserves the credit for this — not only the dollars, but also the term and the structure.

“It means a lot. It allows us to do certain things going forward. And it’s consistent – some of his teammates have done the same thing recently. That’s a sign of leadership and character that Joe certainly has.

On how quickly the deal came together with Joe and his brother John, who is Joe’s agent: “I hadn’t talked to them in probably three or four weeks and I got a call yesterday saying this is what we want to do. We’ve taken great thought and time and think that this really helps the organization and his teammates.

“Joe decided this was the time and place and it happened very quickly.”

PATRICK MARLEAU

“Obviously San Jose is a great place to play, but for guys to commit to a team and want to be here and want to have success here, it shows by the contracts they sign.

On teammates seeing Thornton take a voluntary pay cut: “It says something. It says he wants to win – that’s the biggest thing – and he wants to be here and that you can win here. It sends a message.

On factoring in team success at the bargaining table: “That’s probably the biggest thing come contract time. You want to win so you want to allow the team and yourself to be in a good spot and have room to bring in players.

“With the organization here, they always want to put a winning team on the ice and that’s huge for a player.”

*****Finally, one last thing from Thornton when I asked if he expected to have a problem explaining to his wife that he’d be taking a pay cut.

“She’ll be fine with that,” he said, smiling. “More diapers and food, but it’s all good.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

I think we all pretty much understand if you don’t agree with certain posters then you are called troll and other names.

We Almost

A Team loss is forgivable? Wow, okay then. An interesting concept, maybe our GM can remember that come late April, Early May. Let’s not lay blame on everyone or anyone. After all we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. So lets just call it a team lose, because well, “That’s okay”. LOL!

Can’t we all just get along, let’s all be nice and agree with certain posters and we can all sing combaya and hold hands. And we can call it a team thing, and keep everyone happy.

WAllin is King

Hey Nick,

Maybe you should just repeat it a 100 times a day, until you convince everyone that Wallin and Huskins looked good. It is getting really old we all understand that you think both Wallin and Huskins are good players. We get it, but to repeat it every single game now is getting a little old.

So lets just say it a 100 times and get over with it. But back too the point Wallin and Huskins looked good, okay they looked good compared to who?

Dave

Pay cut? I challenge Mr.Pollak to get a quote from an anonymous current NHL GM that says they would have paid Joe Thornton more then 8 Million for three years for a player that has never lead their team to a Stanley Cup final, is on the wrong side of 30 and that outgoing attitude thats mentioned as a positive is interpreted as laissez faire from the majority of those outside of San Jose or St.Thomas.

3% is a paycut however given the current economic reality in a salary cap NHL that is rapidly transforming in to a youth and speed game the Sharks overpaid him on his extension.

DuxSux

From Section 215 Row 7 Seats 17-18, what we saw was a Sharks team that couldn’t pass, couldn’t win races to the puck, and couldn’t win battles on the boards.

Great seats, with the added attraction of the woman from Row 9 who likes to scream “PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE”.

Good Times, thankfully it’s only October.

SharkFin

You usually get your worst service in a slow restaurant. Sharks tonight got out of sync and looked rusty. Thought they had a chance to put away a team early and TMac may have been on to it when he said ‘maybe our guys found it a little too easy in the early going’.

Mitchell has most of the zing this year.

I thought Boyle was bad tonight.

Agree with Jamie Baker ‘we need more games’ [to get back at game speed and toughness]

GP

“Nick, I just got home too 11:35, Wallin and Huskins looked good??? I know you are the anti regular Sharks fan and love to talk about how good Wallin and Huskins are. Just curious are you related to Doug Wilson?”

Then the guys says:

“I think we all pretty much understand if you don’t agree with certain posters then you are called troll and other names.”

Nice that some harsh names weren’t used, disguised instead with intended insulting tone. Still, you say this is “disagreeable opinion.” Wrong! It’s a personal attack that you wage as opposed to discussing hockey. The rest of the rant was basically “Wallin fell down so he sucks and this loss is to him.” Umm…What?

And exactly what other names are you being called? It is the act of….trolling… your attempt is clearly more sophisticated. Still, It does NOT pass for discussion with disagreements.

Reality, too far from home I guess aye? Discussing why and how you think Atlanta won that game is one thing, but clearly you don’t recognize that isn’t what you do when you attempt to contribute here.

GP

we almost….seems a couple others didn’t agree with assessment of the game. Oh wait. I’m completely wrong on that. They did berate any other posters here.

GP

I can’t type this morning:

we almost….seems a couple others didn’t agree with ^your^ assessment of the game. Oh wait. I’m completely wrong on that. They ^didn’t^ berate any other posters here.

hockeyrocks

#49 GP “To say specific players were bad tonight or at fault…sorry, you’re just trolling. This was a team loss and forgivable at that.”

Who are you to judge and dismiss other posters’ observations as being examples of trolling? Your opinion is no better than other posters’ opinions. You’re a hockey fan just like all of us are at WTC. Noting that Boyle had a bad night against Atlanta is a justifiable observation with which even Boyle himself would agree.

Nick

We Almost–Apparently I’m not the only one who didn’t think Huskins and Wallin were bad, so I’d suggest you simply read their stuff.

As for the fight, you’re mistaken. There was a penalty, then the fight started. So, no, San Jose didn’t get a powerplay out of the fight. They would have gotten the powerplay whether there was a fight or not. Take a look at the first Swedish game when Murray drew a penalty and the Columbus player started to challenge him for a proper response.

You don’t risk taking an off-setting penalty. Fight when it’s smart, not just because you have an opportunity. Be Shelley, not Boogaard. That said, McClaren is a rookie, he’s played, what, 15 games in the NHL? Good judgement is only gained through experience–Experience is only gained through bad judgement. Thankfully the refs were reasonable and gave out two 5-minutes and a 2-minute penalty, and the fight didn’t matter.

David Pollak

Dave,

Challenges are so, well, playground.

But I get your point and I’ll certainly try to remember to run the question past GMs that I cross paths with when the opportunity presents itself.

Until then, the best I can do is quote from Pierre LeBrun of both Hockey Night in Canada fame and espn.com — and a guy who is as knowledgeable and well-respected as it gets among the national NHL media corps.

Here’s what he had to say on the Thornton signing:

“Believe me, a center of Thornton’s stature on the open market is looking at between $8-$9 million a season and six to eight years in length. He gave the Sharks a break here.”

BT – By cutting his salary to $1.2 m, Paul Kariya took advantage of a quirk in the previous CBA to become an unrestricted free agent the next season, many years before he would have otherwise been eligible because of age. He then signed with Nashville for lots of dough. Don’t make him out to be Mother Teresa.

GP

‘rocks: I think you need to go back and look to see who dismisses other posters every single time he/they/she/it posts.

Example here specifically, Nick recounted his observations at the Sharks game and NO ONE was berated by him. Yet, his thoughts of the game were dismissed with prejudice, especially because he had the gall to mention his thought of how Wallin and Huskins played. Then anything he thought was turned back at him with personal insults. Clearly you read that. Didn’t you?

OK, So, if you think Boyle was bad last night, fine. I wouldn’t say that specifically. But I wasn’t impressed. I will not blame him for the loss. Even if I thought he played great, and you still thought he played bad, I have nothing to say. To create the perspective and contrast, in the last example, if I thought Boyle had great play and you thought bad, and I then I declared you a DW hater with that logic that DW traded for Boyle, simply you can call me “we almost.”

btw: in case you weren’t following the conversation’s context in that specific thread, you weren’t included as the target. If you thought so, well, I’ll just leave it at that.

GP

DP,

IMO, there is NO GM around the league, that will agree to be on record at least, that will claim they would have offered Joe 8.5M per if he were available. Most will probably take the correct route of “I can’t comment on other team’s players availability. Even though now it’s after the fact.

The most anyone might say, “If he were to have become a free agent, I would have loved to make him an offer.”

GP

Nick,

I commend you for … sticking with hockey discussion.

chickenwinger

poor night from a defensive standpoint by Boyle and Marleau. marleau allowed his man Byfuglien to get by him and get that pp goal from the slot, and boyle , who i like and support, had a bad night coverage wise, and his blind turnover was another blunder that caused a goal.

and vlasic was no great shakes either. his weak effort on that 2-on-1 was embarrassing. he did not stop the pass thru him,, he did not do anything but caught in between.

wallin is no Blake. he is NOT a second pair guy with scoring ability, and a big slapshot, which is what Blake was. he is nothing but an overpaid 3rd pair dman.

BDub

Sharks might not be in mid season form but the battle of the posters sure is! Offseason officially over. And now, back to hockey.

Dave

David,

I’ll have to take your word on Mr.Lebrun south of the border since I am unfamiliar with the national NHL media in the U.S. outside of a handful of scribes

As for Hockey Night In Canada i’ll assume you are referring to the Satellite Hotstove segment that included well known NHLPA shill Glenn Healey as well as Eric Francis, a local writer for the Calgary Flames? or perhaps “Mad” Mike Milbury? Hardly a well-respected lot with Joe hockey fan in Canada at least.

As for Mr.Lebrun in Canada? I can only offer the insight of an average hockey fan when I say he is often compared to Eklund of Hockeybuzz infamy.

In year 2 and especially year 3 of this extension I suspect there will be plenty of quotes from writers I feel deserve the respect you clearly have for Lebrun like Michael Farber and Kevin Allen sharing my opinion that Joe Thornton’s extension is an overpayment.

I guess time will tell.

David Pollak

Dave,

Yeah, I was referring to the Satellite Hotstove segment. I guess I consider LeBrun a more legit journalist (like Michael Farber and Kevin Allen) in that crew of opinion-mongers (Heatley and Milbury in particular). The comparison to Eklund strikes me as off base.

But as you said, time will tell.

David

maxx

Slow down before you all get all wet peeing yourselves about taking pay cuts. Yes, it shows some class, but when one makes millions PER YEAR another 200 or 300 hundred thousand does not matter that much in how you live. That is why the corporatists are such pigs, complaining about taxes etc., one still lives better than 99.9% of most Americans. It is just a pi$$ing contest for those w/loads of money to show that they are the big dog and how they can dump on those below. True classless pigs.

Joe Thorton apparently by his actions does not buy into that mentality, he sees that he has more than enough and always will. Obviously Joe Thorton is secure enough to not have to prove himself via trappings, other than the trappings of a Stanley Cup ring. He has always been one of my favorite players, before and after he came to “San JoeC” as in captain of the San José Sharks.

beantown dick

Good luck to the Sharks. You’re not going anywhere with this guy as your leader. He’ll lead the league in lots of categories except winning the cup. He’ll never be seen as an Yzerman, Messier, et al. Those guys are born leaders and Jumbo Joe is a born loser.

ice

well….i still have yet to catch a game due to being out of town the last two weekends, but here is what i have gathered from the good ol’ WTC comment section:

1) thornton’s 200K paycut is NOTHING since he makes so much money in the first place. not that it matters anyway, since he will never win a cup for the sharks

2) wallin and huskins suck/dont suck/suck/dont suck/suck/dont suck

3) sharks are a little rusty after playing two games over seas to open the season then taking a week off.

4) DW doesnt know anything about how to sign defensive players and is a horrible GM

5) Randy and Drew talked about the thornton signing too much (even though he is the captain, he’s a star player, and its kind of a big deal)

i see WTC has picked up where it left off last year….

Nick

Maxx–While I agree with you that people generally shouldn’t get too weepy about player salaries (because even making $1m a year to play 5:00 a night on a fourth line will set you up for life 😛 ) but I think you might be overlooking something with Thornton. He didn’t just lower his paycheck by $200k, he forwent free agency, in which he could very likely have gotten $8m a year, easily. I mean, look at Kovalchuk’s ridiculous payout, and he isn’t even half the player Thornton is, right? =P So on paper he took a pay cut of $200k, but he potentially sacrificed up to $2m, which really takes some integrity.

Not to suggest you’re impugning him, I read the rest of your post and know what you think about him. I’m just pointing the $200k thing out because you pointed it out in your first paragraph, is all 🙂

In typing a verbatim transcript, titles are not necessarily listed and/or named in a certain way that it’s easy to refer to the rules. Can you please help to shed some light on how to apply these rules in general everyday speech that is written out? For example, I would cap the job title in response to this question: “What is John Smith’s position with the company?” -or- “The last job Mr. Smith held with the company was Finance Director?” What I’ve normally been relying on in these situations is when the question or response is directed at specifically naming a person to a particular title, I will capitalize it. When a position is referenced in general, I don’t cap it. For example, “Who was the supervisor on duty at the time?” -or- “I was trying to get promoted to supervisor.” Do you have any suggestions of ways I can relate these types of situations better to the rules?

I don’t comment, but I browsed a few responses on this page Joe Thornton: “I wanted to stay here and make it as easy as possible for both parties” | Working the Corners. I actually do have a few questions for you if it’s okay. Could it be simply me or does it appear like some of the responses look like they are written by brain dead people? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional social sites, I’d like to keep up with everything new you have to post. Would you post a list of every one of your shared sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?

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